I had to get a Pap smear for the ring. I was 15 at the time so Iunno if that doctor knows what she is saying.

I am stunned that you haven't had a pap smear, especially since you have cancer of the cervix in your family. How did they check your cervix?

Do you have an OBGYN that you see regularly?

For anyone who wants more information about PAP tests, here is a source:

http://www.cancercare.ns.ca/media/document s/Fact_sheet_Pap_Test_Rules_Change.pdf

IMO yes defffinnetly time... i have been told what i posted by multiple doctors... i am all about asking questions!



by who??

um if youre a mom youve had one unless you are going to a spiritual doctor or something

lol @ spiritual doc!

Wow, it's a good thing you posted this thread, jessamyn. It seems like there is a lot of confusion on this topic.

yeah i am bewildered at the 21 yr old thing that has to be a myth... I am 21 and mother or not i couldnt even imagine going all this time and never having had one

England doesn't do mandatory pap smears, I'm pretty sure.

And like I said, all 4 times I took sex ed/health they said you don't have to get one until your 20's, unless you get pregnant, and then you do one on your first appointment.

Ok so I got curious and ran a search on this topic. Apparently there are new guidelines out that say either by 21 or within 3 years of becoming sexually active. My take is if you are sexually active no matter the age you start you should start seeing a doctor to get a pap smear done.

I got my first pap smear when I was 16 becuase I got on birth control, and I have had one every year since then at my annual check up...

that just baffels me... i can go around and interview doctors out here and i know they would all tell me otherwise...

plus... if youre a sexually active teen how could you NOT want to get an annual... know about your body/get tested/be healthy/etc...

Trust me I agree with you on this one. I think no matter your age you should have paps done when you become sexually active.

Here are some articles I found on the new guidelines:
http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/cervicalc ancer/a/cervcananpapsme.htm

http://www.drdonnica.com/today/00006953.ht m

(cache may not work)http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache: LyB7REAl5IsJ:www.unmc.edu/olson/education/ papguidelines.htm Pap Smear guidelines& ;hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us& client=firefox-a

http://www.acponline.org/journals/news/apr 03/pap_guides.htm

Nope, i asked if that's what she was doing when i went and see said she was just feeling to check, i have no idea how you feel for cancer but hey i'm not a doctor! The only internals i had were that and to see if i was dilated in labour, oh and a membrane sweep

yeah um thats insane... is england like up to date on medical practice? thats insane to me... you should have one after birth and at your post op from having a baby!

this reminds me im due to go in and get a pap.. they wont give me any more pills till i have it done

From personal experience - I started seeing they OB/GYN when I was 17 but it was because my period wouldn't stop (2 1/2 months - was horrible!!) Anyway - since then I go every year - just in case there's something going on down there that I don't know about My mom has abnormal cells and my sister has cervical cancer - so I'd like a heads up if anything serious was going on - plus my OB/GYN is AWESOME!! She's the bubbliest person I have ever met and she LOVES her job. I'd go have a pap every day if I could just to chat with her lol.

my first pap was when i was 14
i had scarlet fever and they asked me all sorts of stuff like have i had sex,number of partners,etc
so they did a pap then. and then i got one at the begining of pregnancy when i had just turned 16

I posted this link a few posts back:

http://www.cancercare.ns.ca/media/document s/Fact_sheet_Pap_Test_Rules_Change.pdf

Which explains this:

When should I have my first Pap test?

Women should have their first Pap test within three years of becoming sexually active, or at age 21, whichever comes first.

Why is it safe to wait for three years after the onset of sexual activity before having a first Pap?

A Pap test is done to see if there are pre-cancerous (dysplastic) or, more rarely, cancerous cells (invasive cervical cancer) on a woman’s cervix. Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and the virus is usually spread by sexual contact. HPV is usually cleared from the body naturally and causes no problem but sometimes the virus will stay in the body and cause genital warts or, over a long period of time, cervical cancer. Because invasive cervical cancer takes a long time to develop after exposure to HPV, experts say that screening can safely be delayed until three years after becoming sexually active.

I wonder how many people even know what pap tests are, what they are testing for, etc.

If you are reading this and do not know the answers to the above 2 questions, PLEASE ask!

In a related question, have any of you had the HPV vaccine?

nope havent had the hov vaccine yet! but i defintely want to get one!